Laundry bag



July 27, 1937. J, s, cUMMlNG 2,088,232

LAUNDRY BAG Filed Jan. 9, 1936 BY WM A TTORNEYS.

Patented July 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIc f John Stewart Cumming, Pawtucket, R. I., assignor to Colonial Laundries, Inc., a corporation of Rhode Island Application January 9,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to bags or receptacles, and more particularly to a laundry bag, and has for one of its objects to provide a novel construction of laundry bag composed of paper in which the bottomthereof temporarily holds the bag in a folded condition to permit its use as an advertising circular. Another object of this invention is to provide a paper bag construction for laundry purposes in which the open top end of the bag is temporarily confined and held in a folded relationship with respect to .and by means of the bottom of the bag structure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a paper laundry bag construction having an open top end portion and a binding or closure member mounted adjacent to the outer end of said top portion which will form a binding around the gathered folds of the top end of said bag of sufficient diameter to retain the bag contents against escape therefrom and in closed form for transit to the laundry. l

Another object of the invention is the provision of a paper bag for holding laundry wherein the binding or closure device therefor will maintain the capacity of bag fixed and constant irrespective of the weight oramount of its contents thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a paper laundry bag whereby its contents may be a limited and for which a fixed service charge may be assigned therefor without the necessity of to the final step of production with the top end folded in position to be temporarily confined beneath the flap; Fig. 3 is a likeview at the final step of production with the bag in completed form for distribution;

i is a perspective view of the bag showing closure means for temporarily binding the top end thereof for transit tothe laundry; and

1, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view: of the topend portion of thebag showing anotherclosure means for temporarily binding the bag end.

Whenarticlesrequiring laundering are put up for the laundry, they are usually thrown indiscriminately into a box or a bag of different and varying sizes. The result has been that the various pieces become jumbled into a confused and not readily separable mass so that, when isssjserial No. 58,271

the wash arrives at the laundry, it is necessary their work either by the pound or by the piece, 1

itbecomes further necessary for them, in addition, to weigh or count the number of pieces sent in each wash to determine the proper charge which is to be made for their work. In the past, various types of containers have been proposed in an attempt to overcome the foregoing defects and disadvantages, but they have not been entirely satisfactory in practice. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a laundry bag or receptacle which is made of a relatively inexpensive material whereby it may be thrown away after use. It is also desirable to provide a laundry bag in a size which will serve as measure for the cost of: the package and in a form so that itmay serve both as a container for the laundry and as an advertising. medium, and which can be made for substantially the same cost as an ordinary advertising circular yet when distributed to a prospective customer will not be quickly thrown away unopened, but will instead, by its unique construction, attract attention to the advertising which it carries, andin addition, provide a useful container which will be kept around .and used, if desired, for the sending of a trial wash; and in orderthat these features may be accomplished, I have provided a bag construction having generallyrectangular front and back walls which are flattened down and folded so that the closed bottom of the bag is arranged upon the open top end portion thereof in which the latter is maintained in a folded position by the overlapping portion of the bag bottom which forms a flap temporarily confining said folded .top portion of the bag and fastened thereto by an adhesive body; and I have also provided a closure member adjacent to the open end portion of the bag and which prior to ,use will lie beneath the overlapping flap of the folded bag bottom but will be immediately available for use, uponthe tearing of the adhesive body and raising of the flap, and so can be wound around the neck of the bag to secure the sameand prevent escape ofits contents ,when the bag is filled with laundry articles; and the following is a more detailed description .of the present embodiment of this invention, illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous resultsmay be accomplished:

,.With reference to-the drawing, Ill designates the .body of the bag, and as shown in Figure 4 of the drawing, it comprises front and back walls [land l3} respectively, and is provided with an open top end portion l4 and a closed bottom l5. The bag consists of inexpensive sheet ma terial, preferably strong paper, which has been cut to the proper shape and dimensions to form a bag of the size desired, and the outer flaps thereof are pasted to the body to produce the completed container.

In order that the bag may serve the dual purpose as a laundry receptacle and as an advertising vehicle to display printed matter for soliciting new customers for the laundry, the bag is made in the form of a folded package, in which the bottom I5 is folded about a line 16 transversely of its middle and passing through the end corner points I 1 and 18, respectively, to form an inwardly projecting cover fiap L! which extends downwardly over the top end portion 20 of the bag to temporarily confine and hold said portion after it has been folded widthwise on the transverse line 2 I, as shown in dotted outline in Figure 4 of the drawing. The bag is scored along the line 2| at the time of its formation to definitely locate the point of fold. The flap [9 may be cemented or otherwise secured in place on the top portion 20. In the preferred construction, a gummed sticker or seal 22 is pasted to the fiap l9 and the top bag portion 20 at the overlapping portions thereof. This sticker may also serve to fasten to the flap I9 a request post-card 23, by means of which notice is sent to the laundry that they are to call for the wash. The walls l2 and I3 may display advertising matter, such as the name and trade-mark of the laundry and descriptive printed matter highly informative of the type of service rendered.

As illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 4 of the drawing, a binding or closure member is mounted on the top portion 20 of the bag and at a predetermined position thereon adjacent to its open end I4 so as to maintain the capacity of the bag constant at a fixed point of closure irrespective of the weight or number of pieces of goods put therein, and in the specific construction illustrated this preferably comprises a gummed closure strip 25 which is secured at its inner end 26 to the wall I2 of the bag, the outer end 21 of the strip 25 being loose whereby it may be free to be wound around the neck of the bag, as shown in Figure 1, and sealed by pasting over its inner fixed end 26 or cemented to the outside of the bag so as to retain the bag in a closed position and to prevent escape of its contents.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawing in which the closure member comprises a tie fastener 30 having a pair of loose strings 3| and 32, the inner ends of which are secured to an eyelet 33 suitably fastened in the wall l3 of the bag portion 20, the strings 3| and 32 being wound about the neck of the bag and then wound around the eyelet 33 and prevented from slipping sidewise therefrom by a washer 35.

By this arrangement a bag construction is provided which may serve as a container for pieces of fiatwork and wearing apparel to be laundered and also as an advertising display package. Furthermore, since the position of the closure is fixed, the capacity of the bag is made constant and hence the charge for the service, based on its fixed contents, may be thus determined in advance for the particular size of bag which is to be filled. It is to be understood that the bag must be closed by the means provided in order that the fixed charge will apply.

The foregoing description is directed solely to- Wards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A laundry bag comprising a foldable body of paper having a closed bottom, front and back walls, and an open top end portion, the upper portion of said bag body being folded and doubled upon itself and temporarily confined at its top edge by and beneath a fold of the bottom of the bag, said folded bag bottom extended around and over the top end of the upper portion of said bag to form a fiap extending lengthwise along said portion, means for retaining said bottom flap in a folded position above the upper portion of said bag, and closure means for said bag secured to said upper portion of the bag adjacent to the open edge thereof and normally disposed beneath said folded bottom flap when not in use but applicable about the neck of the bag when the latter is filled.

2. A laundry bag comprising a foldable body of paper having a closed bottom, front and back walls, and an open top end, the upper portion of said bag body being folded and doubled upon itself and temporarily confined at its top edge by and beneath a fold of the bottom of the bag, said folded bag bottom extending around and over the top end of the upper portion of said bag to form a flap extending lengthwise along said portion, means for retaining said bottom flap in a folded position above the upper portion of said bag, and closure means for said bag secured to a Wall of said upper portion of the bag adjacent to the open end thereof and normally disposed beneath said folded bottom flap when not in use but applicable about the neck of the bag when the latter is filled, said closure means comprising a laterally extending adhesive closure strip of shorter length than the width of said folded bag and having one end fixedly secured to said bag wall at a predetermined position thereon with the other end loose and connectible with said fixed end when the strip is Wound about the bag neck and thus serve to determine the quantity of fillable space of said bag when the latter is unfolded for receiving pieces of laundry and thereby provide a fixed level of closure of the same representing a substantially constant measure of goods corresponding to a unit of price.

3. A laundry bag comprising a foldable body of paper having a closed bottom, front and back walls, and an open top end portion, the upper portion of said bag body being folded and doubled upon itself and temporarily confined at its top edge by and beneath a fold of the bottom of the bag, said folded bag bottom extending around and over the top end of the upper portion of said bag to form a flap extending lengthwise along said portion, and closure means for said bag secured to said upper portion of the bag adjacent to and along the open edge thereof and normally disposed beneath and concealed by said folded bottom flap when not in use but applicable about the neck of the bag when the latter is filled.

JOHN STEWART CUMMING. 

